Understanding the Three-Panel Layout

CodeMantis splits your workspace into three panels so you can navigate files, chat with Claude Code, and monitor activity without switching windows. Each panel is resizable — drag the dividers to adjust widths to your preference.

Sidebar (Left Panel)

The sidebar gives you a bird's-eye view of your project:

• File tree — Browse and open any file in your project directory. Files are displayed in a collapsible tree that mirrors your folder structure.
• Git status — See the current branch name and a count of uncommitted changes at a glance, so you always know where you stand before committing or switching branches.

Click any file in the tree to open it in the editor tab on the right panel.

Chat Panel (Center)

The chat panel is where you interact with Claude Code:

• Conversation history — Scroll through your full session, including messages, code suggestions, and tool results.
• Message input — Type instructions, questions, or follow-ups at the bottom of the panel. Press Enter to send.
• Mode indicator — The current session mode (Normal, Auto-Accept, or Plan) is displayed near the input area. Switch modes with Command + . at any time.

Files / Chat Switcher

When the active session has files open, the center column gains a small Files / Chat tab bar, so you can flip the file workspace in and out of the center without re-clicking a file in the tree — then flip back to the conversation just as quickly.

Switching the left panel into Project view while files are already open auto-promotes the file workspace to the center. A manual switch back to Chat is always respected — nothing pulls you off the conversation, and neither a Duo-Coding run nor an agent's background file activity steals the center.

While files are hosted in the center, the right panel's Files tab shows "Files open in the center"; with nothing open it shows "No open files".

Right Panel

The right panel uses a tabbed interface to house several tools:

Activity Feed

A real-time log of every action Claude Code performs. Actions are color-coded for quick scanning:

• Blue — File reads
• Green — File writes (new files)
• Yellow — File edits (modifications)
• Purple — Bash commands

When running in Normal mode, tool approval buttons appear inline in the Activity Feed. You can approve or reject each action before it executes.

Files

A built-in Monaco editor (the same engine behind VS Code) for viewing and editing files directly inside CodeMantis. When you click a file in the sidebar or in a Claude Code response, it opens here.

Terminal

An integrated terminal so you can run shell commands without leaving CodeMantis. Useful for installing dependencies, running scripts, or checking logs.

Changelog

A summary of all file changes made during the current session, giving you a clear record of what Claude Code modified.

Assistants

Manage multiple AI assistants running in parallel. Each assistant has its own chat session and can work on a different task simultaneously.

Resizing Panels

Drag the vertical dividers between panels to resize them. CodeMantis remembers your preferred layout between sessions.

Global Command Palette

Beyond the panels themselves, you can jump anywhere in CodeMantis straight from the keyboard. Press Cmd K (Ctrl+K on Windows) to open the Global Command Palette — an app-wide, fuzzy-searchable launcher for navigation and actions from any screen.

This is separate from the slash-command palette, which runs commands inside the current chat. The Global Command Palette groups matches into Recent and Suggested and lets you:

• Switch sessions or projects — jump to any open session or project by name.
• Jump to a view or panel — View: and Panel: entries move you straight to a specific area.
• Start work — create a New session or a New worktree session.
• Toggle chrome — show or hide the Overview rail or the Help panel.
• Search settings — Settings: <item> entries jump to a specific control; every settings field is keyword-indexed, so the palette doubles as settings search.
• Switch themes — Theme: <item> entries change the active theme.
• Open project files — jump directly to any file in the project.